Former NATO officer: "We accept civilian casualties"

In the air war against the Daech terrorists, Daech's strategy is to mingle with the civilian population to make them the first victims of strikes, and Aleppo's situation is no different from that of Mosul, former NATO officer Ulrich Scholz told Sputnik.The Bundeswehr's participation in the air strikes by the international coalition against the Islamic State's (Daech) jihadists is not confined to reconnaissance flights in Tornado fighter planes: the German Federal Government advisers inspect every target, the Ex-NATO intervention planner Ulrich Scholz told Sputnik

"They say, 'This target can cost ten lives of civilians, max.' Then, the strikes are made," said the agency's interlocutor.He added that this implies that the "collateral damage" was accepted in advance.

"This means that the astonishment shown by politicians and the media following reports that the Tornado German reconnaissance aircraft had participated in the anti-Daech coalition strikes that resulted in civilian casualties would not have been anything but a simulation," said the former Bundeswehr Lieutenant-Colonel. Mr. Scholz explains the outrage all over the social networks about the Bundeswehr involvement in bombing the civilian population by the fact that the Bundeswehr admits being involved in the bombardment of the civilian population. Yet it is simply a "classic" on the model of the US or NATO."Anyway, an adversary such as Daech in an asymmetric war against a regular army has no other chance than to mingle with the civilian population ... so that, during air strikes, the shells fall on civilians. It's the strategy," comments the former NATO intervention planner.According to the latter, "collateral damage" was accepted from the outset, including by the German side."As cynical as it is, we accept it. [...] We approve the killing of civilians! Such a war is simply amoral," he summed up.Mr. Scholz, who himself was a pilot of Tornado in the past, also points out that these aircraft are absolutely unsuitable for operations against Daech.

"The images they provide do not show where the Daech fighters are. The Tornado are therefore part of a "deadly chain" in this war, and so the Bundeswehr is also responsible for victims in the civilian population," he said.The former NATO officer concludes that claims that the Syrian army or Russian forces willfully kill the civilian population in Aleppo "are in flagrant contradiction to common sense:" an air war against asymmetric forces affects the civilians, and the situation at Aleppo is not distinguished from the situation in Mosul."One valid solution would be to stop the war and sit at the negotiating table," concludes Scholz.